Do I make sandwiches at home often? No, not really at all. Maybe a quesadilla every once in a while. Do I make soups at home? Not in the summer, and in general, it just depends. I read about this a few days ago, and it piqued my interest. But then, today, I was reading about the prizes, and all of a sudden, I had to do it. But it’s not even about the prizes. Yes, they kick ass, but it was just this uncontrollable urge.

And then, the brain started churning. Ideas… ideas… Sweet and savory combinations are sort of ruling my palate lately, and the idea of a hot soup now that summer has finally smacked us in the face didn’t seem right. I just recently had saba, a sweet, balsamic-y vinegar, and blueberries, and adored it. I also just bought a (ok, inexpensive) bottle of balsamic vinegar. Strawberry balsamic soup? But what to pair it with… I wanted to keep with the sweet and savory theme because I don’t think an all-sweet or all-savory sandwich would work with a fairly sweet soup.

And, of course, the same person that introduced me to saba and berries once again popped into my head… The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck…. His choinkwich ice cream sandwich (chocolate cookie, chocolate ice cream, caramelized bacon ‘wheel’). What about a bacon and nutella sandwich on sourdough bread?

So… decadent, yes. Yummy? I hope so. Since the competition is Saturday afternoon, I don’t have much time to test it. (And don’t really want to overly do so.) But, I think the sandwich needs a little something else along with the bacon and nutella to make it perfect… I’m thinking of possibly rubbing the bacon with a little chili powder to give it just a teeny bit of heat. I’ll probably bake it, and hopefully get it nice and crispy/chewy. What does the culinary world out there think about just a teensy smear of a mild goat cheese on the sandwich? I think it needs something in there to pick up the flavors, and to go along with the soup. Thin slices of tart apple?

Suggestions and recipes are totally welcome!!!

Now, how to estimate how much food to buy. (Yes, this is silly, since I am unemployed, but I just. Gah. Had to do it.) Basically I need a bite of food for 150 people – 2oz of soup each and somewhere between 1/4-1/8 of a regular size sandwich. Christ. I just realized… That’s still about two GALLONS of soup. About 19 sandwiches… Um…. what did I get myself into?!

Yeah… your mention of that sandwich earlier (which sounds divine) had me thinking of apple.I hope the recipe I found for the soup is yummy. I would love to not have to stray much.http://www.soupsong.com/rstrawb1.html

Emily, the apples and the cheese sound PERFECT. I have to admit, it didn't peak my interest at first (I thought in my head, "I'd try it, but probably wouldn't like it), but a tad bit of goat cheese and definitely on the green apples, now THAT sounds delish. Can't believe you're cooking for 120 tasters!